


When Home is Not a Home

by Steal



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:41:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29553681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steal/pseuds/Steal





	When Home is Not a Home

She stood at the window watching the white car drive away through the rain. Watching and praying not for the last time that the car would turn around, that she would wake up any second. Once the car was out of sight she turned and clenching her fist walked down the stairs to check on her sisters. 

"So he has left?" She asked once she reached them, watching their eyes.

"Yes," Emanuel answered putting her arm around her sister Tempus and pulling her close.

"Yeah but will see him in like a day, and he told us that we can always call him. You do think Mom will let us call him right Sara?" Tempus said pushing Emanuel away gently.

"Of course, and even she doesn't it is only a day. Now come on I can hear the oven beeping. We should probably make sure Mom has heard," Sara said before leading her sisters to the kitchen.

"Emanuel, Tempus set the table. Sara, please put the potato salad on the table, and don't forget the spoon." She said as she pulled the hamburgers out of the oven. 

The three of them nodded and did as they were asked, and before long, they were sitting at the table. They ate quietly for a few minutes, but after their mother had finished eating, she looked up and clearing her throat and said,

"Squalus will be home tomorrow; I want you all to be on your best behaviour."

"I will be if he is, but you know how quickly my temper flares," Sara said, looking up from her food and smiling at her Mom before continuing,

"If he does not behave, then I will act as I have since the second time I saw him." 

Her sisters nodded with a glare, having dropped their forks and leaned forward in their chairs, ready for a fight.

"No, you will be nice to my husband, the way I have taught you. Like I always say, turn the other cheek," She responded, giving them a fake smile.

Tempus growled at her and stood, 

"I will not. I will fight him if I wish!" She yelled as she turned and ran to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Sara shot a quick glance at Emanuel, who nodded and left to go check on their youngest sister. Sara stood and gathered the dishes off the table. Since their Mom was already done, she followed Sara to the kitchen with her plate, thinking Sara was going to argue further. However, Sara just helped her Mom with the dishes quietly, not saying anything until they were done.

"I will treat him as he treats my sisters and me," Sara said quietly before she walked away.

That night as she laid in her bed, Sara thought of the day to come, how different it would be now that their brother Eroe was not there. As she drifted off to sleep, she swore to herself that no matter the cost, she would protect her sisters from harm.

Breakfast the next morning was subdued as no one wanted to fight so close to Squalus's arrival. They played quiet card games until around three when they heard tires crunching on their gravel driveway. Realizing that Squalus had arrived, Sara and her sisters immediately got up and ran up the stairs and into Sara's room. Listening closely, they could just make out their Mom's greeting to Squalus.

"Sara, do you think Mom would take our side in a fight against Squalus?" Tempus asked, looking away, hands shaking slightly as she folded them in her lap.

"Of course she will. She is our mother," Sara said, smiling slightly at her sisters, trying to cheer Tempus up. 

Once she got a smile in return, Sara reminded them that they had been planning to play make-believe and ushered them out of her room, smiling at them as they left. Once they were gone, she closed the door and leaning against it and allowed herself to slide down until she was sitting on the floor.

"God, I hope she would side with us," Sara thought, banging her head lightly against the door. 

About an hour later, Sara glanced up from her book when she heard Tempus singing along with one of her favourite songs. Sara sat up with a smile as she listened to Tempus sing the joy in her voice plain to hear.

"Stop that screeching!" Squalus shouted a few minutes later, obviously annoyed.

Tempus's singing stopped immediately, but a few seconds later, she heard Emanuel raise her voice, singing louder than Tempus had been, defending her sister. After a second to honour, Emanuel's immediate defence of her sister Sara raised her voice as well. She stopped singing a few seconds later when she heard a strange sound from Tempus's room. Once she realized that Emanuel had also stopped singing, she stood and quickly exited her room. She walked to her sister's room and knocked, asking for admittance. Once Tempus had said she could come in, she opened the door and entered, shutting the door quietly behind her. She glanced at Emanuel checking on her first, and seeing that she was fine, she turned her attention to Tempus. Upon seeing the tears in her eyes, she dropped to her knees and pulled her into a tight hug struggling to contain her anger. After a second's hesitation, Emanuel also wrapped her arms around Tempus, and they held her until her tears had stopped. Sara pulled back slightly to ask her a question, but before she could, they heard their Mom call out,

"Tempus! Come set the table," She shouted.

Tempus stood immediately and ran to the bathroom to wash her face in hopes of wiping any trace of her tears away. Emanuel and Sara waited for her at the top of the steps and followed her down two steps behind on either side. They followed her until they reached the kitchen. Leaving only when Tempus told them to. Emanuel had nodded and went to hide the TV remote just to annoy Squalus. Sara stood quietly in the doorway to hear what their mother said to Tempus.

"Have you been crying?" Their mother asked mildly.

"No, I just got done washing my face," Tempus responded immediately as she carried the plates to the table.

"Yes, you have," their mother said, taking a step forward and putting her hand to Tempus's cheek.

"What happened?" their Mom asked.

Sara listened as Tempus recited the story, voice breaking. As soon as Tempus told her Mom that she had been crying because of something Bruce had said, her Mom turned her focus back to the rice she had been cooking. 

"That sucks, honey, now. Can you finish setting the table?" Their mother said once Tempus had finished relaying the story.

Sara stood in the doorway, hands shaking. She turned and, stepping out of sight, slumped against the wall hiding her face in her arm. She stood that way for a few seconds trying to regain control of her ragged breaths. Then she walked into the kitchen and, clapping a hand on her sister's shoulder, brought the silverware to the table.

Not unsurprisingly, Sara could not sleep that night. She couldn't stop replaying her Mom's words and actions in her head, hoping that if she examined them one more time, there would be some evidence of her Mom defending Tempus or some hint that she thought what Squalus had said was wrong. 

"I told them you would be on our side. I told them we could count on you, but you couldn't care less if he hurts us. What kind of mother are you?" She thought, squeezing her eyes shut so tight it hurt.

"It doesn't matter. We leave tomorrow morning."  
She nodded sharply and took a deep breath before reaching over and grabbing her book and flashlight from her nightstand. She opened her book and read until she was so exhausted she couldn't keep her eyes open. Then she closed the book, turned off the flashlight and after setting them back on her stand, she slept.

The next morning once she was dressed, she walked downstairs with her sisters and ate a tense breakfast. Then Sara disappeared into her room, saying she needed to pack even though she never unpacked anymore. After an hour of pretending that she was not counting down the minutes, she heard her Dad's car pull up the driveway. She grabbed her backpack and, smiling, dashed downstairs.   
She waited somewhat impatiently in the entryway while everyone said their goodbyes. Once they were finally inside their Dad's car, she took a deep breath, knowing that her sisters were safe for now. She listened to everyone's conversations for a second, then for the first time in four days, she tuned it all out.


End file.
